Vintage vs. Modern

[Caca de Kick]

Just because an amp is a tube, doesn't mean it's vintage. There are plenty of builders making brand new tube amps today. It's just a differen't sound that people go for.
But as far as reliability and arguments sake...I will point out there are far more people playing 25-40yr old tube amps, than people playing 25-40yr old SS amps. I'm just sayin'....

But basses, I love all things bass. I play old, I play new...just because it's old doesn't mean it superior, and sometimes new just doesn't inspire me. It's a case by case basis, just play what sounds good and shakes butts.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Jack nailed it, as he usually does.

I have pre-EB Stingray, which I love, but I've owned Fenders from the same era that were quite ordinary. I just bought a very nice '66 Fender that plays and sounds wonderful, but I've owned Gibsons from the same era that sound like the dead dinosoars that they are. My '66 Fender cost me three times the price of a brand new Bongo, but the Bongo destroys it for build quality, tonal versatility and ergonomics. I have an XL Steinberger that I love and sounds great, but ergonomically the Bongo blows it away. Ampeg tube stacks sound nice, but I can get "my tone" out of a 6lb Markbass or Acoustic Image head, so why would I bother.

Horses for courses.

 

[rhythmCity944]

It's all personal preference i think...if you think a bass sounds and plays good, then it is a good bass for you...

 

[JimB52]

A brand new girlfriend might have better features, but I'll stick with my vintage wife.
Now, as for basses, I like all kinds, but the newer ones do have some nifty improvements.
Jim B

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I think I agree with most of Ritchie's initial statements. However, I do like some vintage designs and looks. It doesn't actually have to be vintage. For example, 3-tone sunburst with a tortoise shell pickguard is a really classic "vintage" look that I like (it seems a lot of other people do too ). And, a bass or amp does not have to be old to be good. There is plenty of new stuff out there that gets the job done as good or better than the equipment of old.

New basses
New amps (SS or tube)
Digital recording
Digital playback
MP3 (for sound quality, but for convenience)

 

[MK Bass Weed]

Good Thread.

I drove up to NYC on Sunday to do a session with my old band from waaaaay back. We have not worked together as a band for 20 years and were going to re-cut on old original for a new publishing deal... (had to get rid of that Juno keyboard pad and Alesis drum sequencer sound..eeesh). Everything was going into Pro-tools..cool.

So, the guitarist pulls out the exact White Strat that he used on the original track 20 years ago. His wifey bought it for him for his birthday in 1983...It was 'used' of course, and they dickered over the price but got it for about $650.00 bucks. It was an all original 1962.

He plugged in and played the exact lead on Sunday through a POD instead of his old Mesa Boogie which was also white with the wicker speaker cover.

We were all listening to the playback and I had to ask.."Well, aren't you glad you paid $650 for that instead of the $20K it's worth now? The sound was incredible...but was it $19K more incredible? It sounded exactly the same it did 20 years ago, good, damn good, but...I just kept thinking about people shelling out this kind of cash for wood and wire on the drive back to Philly.

I remember in when I got my first bass in '76 when there really was only one or two choices at the time...upperclassmen in college would laugh at my 'non -pre cbs bass with 'crappy pickup wire and plastic coated shell'....I loved it though...it was awesome and while Marcus has his signature on the instrument these days, I think of it as 'my first sound'.
The tone was gigantic. My point here, was even what was considered 'junk' in those days now fetches ridiculous prices. But that's what the market will bear right? Maybe with all the foreclosures going on, we'll see some basses back on the market. Who knows.

I certainly understand in a big way vintage as purely as an investment. Geez...I just bought a house last July...I thought the market wasn't gonna get THAT much worse (as in better for me, the buyer)...shoulda waited a year and bought a vintage bass right?

What I'll never go for is the vintage as 'holy grail' which is what I hear from my own band mates...I just saw through that on Sunday. The strat was a good guitar to start with. The fact that it's vintage makes it special yeah...but I've seen and heard new guitars, just weeks old that totally smoke, and when I hear them, I don't think, geez, but it ain't vintage.

I also think there is a 'have' and 'have not' thing going on in Le Vintage Club, which is pretty exclusive when prices are in the $5k and up ranges. Those that can plunk down the equivalent of the price of a small Hybrid SUV on a bass CAN feel superior. They are probably spending alot more on their ties and shoes in a year then I spend on my kids tuition...that's very cool, hell if I had the scratch, I'd be plunking down too, then when I plug in that 62 vintage whatever into my Peavey amp at Bob's Bar-B-Q Pit, Bass Nirvana is somehow reached.

I'll stick with my RayHH for now..after taxes...I'll start ramping the Bongo..weeee.

 

[johnfrazier]

Whether it's my rapidly appreciating B00 basses, or my dinged up '88 SR5, my pristine '95 fretless or one of my Annis, I just resonate to the history, legacy, design, execution, craftsmanshp and sound of EBMM. Young or old, I don't care.


JF
Bassist for The Cousins of the Sons of the Kings of Rhythm

 

[oddjob]

A brand new girlfriend might have better features, but I'll stick with my vintage wife.
Now, as for basses, I like all kinds, but the newer ones do have some nifty improvements.
Jim B

Wonder where I can find some nifty improvements for my vintage wife???

 

[sloshep]

This has got to be one of the first reasonably discussions I have read on this subject in a long time.

I agree with Jack some of its good and some of it is just old.

I was lucky enough to get to play a 57 Strat a few years ago. Loved the tone - truly amazing. Then there was the neck on that thing. Yuck, I hated that it. Did not fit my hands at all. I prefer modern stuff most of the time. I just don't have the funds to pay outrageous somes of money to play something old. I believe most of the time design moves things forward, not backwards - as long as the bean counters are kept in check. I think it all depends on preference and quality of design. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Wonder where I can find some nifty improvements for my vintage wife???

Your bank manager and cosmetic surgeon can assist.

 

[Old_Guy]

Oh yea. I loved my old Ampeg B-15. It buzzed, hummed, shocked me on occasion, but sure. I sold it in 1975 for $100. Worth $1400 on E-Bay today. Keep it, thanks. Along with the passive hum-creating p/up Hoffner bass. While you're at it, keep the Ford Pinto the guitarist drove (though it's probably exploded), and the AMC Gremlin the drummer had.

Vintage, my dyin' _______.

"If you remember the sixties, you probably didn't live through the sixties."
- Dennis Hopper

 

[rogerbmiller]

Great thread topic folks!

I've actually thought about this a lot lately.

Once upon a time, I was adamantly in the new school camp.

Then about 13 years ago I was in the market for a Stingray, and absolutely fell in love with the pre EB B00 basses. I wanted one so bad-- not because it was vintage per se, but because I loved the bass. Couldn't afford it so for 1/3 the price I ended up buying my First 'Ray in '95 which I would date between 1992 and 1995. Birdseye with mutes. Love that bass. Still have it. Will never let it go.

But discovering the B00 basses was my first dose of vintage.

Fast forward 10 years later and I have developed a bit of a penchant for collecting older basses. Again, not because they are vintage per se, but because there are just so many things I love that were discontinued after a short time and I never got around to buying them when they were new.

I buy enough new stuff still. I recently bought a newish Sterling and a couple of SUBS. Love em. Wish I bough tmore SUBS before they were discontinued for sure.

So I suppose now I am sort of agnostic about vintage vs. new.

I like what I like and if it happens to be a bit old, then hey, so be it.

Fortunately, when it comes to Stingrays, Sterlings, etc., there truly are no bad ones, at least in my opinion! Or suffice to say I haven't been disappointed.

 

[Kristopher]

I've read studies on how years of vibrations can change the wood in instruments and somehow make them better. I don't have enough experience with this sort of thing to have an opinion one way or another. I figure if the bass sounds good, I'm going to want to play it, no matter what age it is.

I've got a question: has anyone noticed a great sounding instrument sound better with age?

 

[tkarter]

Today is old tomorrow is new. I want tomorrow.

tk

 

[Ole Man Blues]

I've read studies on how years of vibrations can change the wood in instruments and somehow make them better. I don't have enough experience with this sort of thing to have an opinion one way or another. I figure if the bass sounds good, I'm going to want to play it, no matter what age it is.

I've got a question: has anyone noticed a great sounding instrument sound better with age?

Yes I have. Especially acoustic guitars. I have a 2001 HD-28V Martin that after 7 years it really sings. I finger pick it and when I sit down and play it's so hard to put it back in the case. It just sounds so much sweeter than 7 years ago.

Aging does make a great sounding instrument sound even better........

OMB

 

[MK Bass Weed]

I've read studies on how years of vibrations can change the wood in instruments and somehow make them better. I don't have enough experience with this sort of thing to have an opinion one way or another. I figure if the bass sounds good, I'm going to want to play it, no matter what age it is.

I've got a question: has anyone noticed a great sounding instrument sound better with age?

I think I read somewhere that guitar maker or two were actually strapping basses, or wood blanks to big speakers...and applying frequencies to them in order to simulate this 'years of vibration' vibe....Rick Turner maybe...I can't find the article, but I thought, geez...that's cool, everyone should do that!

Here's an link to an article I just found

http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/advice/vibration.shtml

They put the guitar in a vibrator and shake the hell out of it...

 

[bovinehost]

Measurements in the twilight zone.

I know I'm not going to pay extra to have someone shake my bass.

Um, depending on what she looks like, I guess, but anyway.